Lucario and the Pharaoh's Curse
by Shritistrang
Summary: You will never die until all those warriors will rise from their graves." Thousands of years ago, a dying Pharoh had spoken these words. And Ash and his friends are about to find out what they mean...
1. 3300 years ago

Author's Notes:

This is a story I began to write and abandoned shortly afterwards. I still wanted to post it on this site to see if there are people that like it. I will post the few chapters I have written up to now over the following few days.

Enjoy!

* * *

Almost all of his warriors were defeated. Either fled or imprisoned by the rebellious Pokémon. The Pokémon army that was being led by a mysterious general was just too big... there were ten of them for every of his own men.

He knew it. Up here, in the dry canyon that was scorched by the searing rays of the sun, just a short distance away from the battlefield that had been filled with the sounds of clashing weapons, dying humans and roaring Pokémon. He was going to die up here!

Akhenaten knew it. Maybe for the first time in his life as human and god, as the ruler over Egypt and as representative of the only god that was important to him, he never had been as aware of his mortality as now. But he felt no fear.

Only deep bitterness and pain. And an endless frustration, that this was supposed to be the end, a cruel death in this sun-scorched desert.

He didn't know why he had to die.

He didn't know who his murderers were and maybe that was the worst: To die and not to know why, without being aware of any guilt.

Akhenaten dragged his body through the sand and rocks. The bright sun almost made him blind. He knew he wouldn't stand much more of this agony. Unlike other Pharaohs before him, he was not a strong man. He rarely went on a hunt and never took part in a war, he barely even left his palace. Still he was trying to reach Thebes, the capital of the kingdom.

The Pharaoh pondered why anyone would want his death. True, he had broken many of the old customs and rules, and enraged the old priests. He knew that many people were still clinging to the old religion and the beliefs into the ancient gods. And there were quite a few influential men doing it, priests and generals. But he would never believe that any of them would start a rebellion or even plan the murder of a Pharaoh!

He grimaced in pain as he tried to go on. Every single movement turned into agony as the deep wound on his right side started bleeding again. Despairingly, he looked up at the blazing sun, which at the same time was the image of his only god, the god he wanted to have as Egypt's only god.

'Aten,' he thought. 'Why did you leave me? Why are you turning away from your son, who you entrusted with the rulership over an entire kingdom, while I chased away the old gods and forbade the worshipping of them?'

But the solar disk stayed silent and continued to sent rays of death to the exhausted man. Akhenaten was thirsty. Unbelievably thirsty. If he had the choice, he would exchange the final moments of his life against a few drops of refreshing water.

But when he looked up again, he felt as if something was holding him back in the world of the living. Did Aten finally show mercy to his child?

The Pharaoh gasped when he saw a tall figure rising in front of the sun, a dark shadow that loomed over him. And for a short moment, hope was spreading through Akhenaten's heart.

But then his vision cleared and he recognized the figure that was standing in front of him.

"You?" he whispered in disbelief. And then he shouted in horror: "YOU?"

The two-legged Pokémon with the blue and black fur stared down at him. Its two fists were shaking.

'Yes,' it told the dying Pharaoh mentally. 'Me, you fool!'

"But... but why?" Akhenaten whispered. Not this noble Pokémon that had supported him with everything he did, that was his FRIEND!

"Why?" he asked again.

Lucario grimaced. 'Why? You really ask me why? Don't you know that, you fool? Because you are our downfall! You have betrayed the ancient gods and brought Egypt to the edge of ruin! Did you honestly think that we Pokémon would watch how you continue to abuse your so-called rights to betray us? The ancient gods are the only gods for us... betray them and you betray us!' The Pokémon spat on the ground. 'You are no Pharaoh! You are a fool, a child that never learned what it meant to live with Pokémon. I should... I should just let you lie here and die!'

"But I... I brought you peace..." the Pharaoh whimpered. "The humans started to accept you..."

'But did you only think one second that we might not accept the humans? Not the way they are, Akhenaten! And even several humans don't want your new religion. The old priests are detesting your plans! That's your 'peace', fool! The people don't want peace! They want a powerful Pharaoh whose enemies tremble with fear when they hear his name!'

"Is that what you want?" Akhenaten asked quietly. "Become Pharaoh?"

'Don't be ridiculous! The humans would never accept a Pokémon on the throne! Besides, I never cared about the throne anyway... but you, you have to go!'

"There are others coming after me," the Pharaoh said. "You want to kill them as well?"

'Others? Oh, you mean Tutankhaten? He is just a child! A child who needs mentors and teachers to rule Egypt. It will be easy to control him. You needed friends as well, remember?'

"How long... did you plan this?"

'Not from the very beginning... but for a very long time!' Lucario snarled. 'I hate you, Akhenaten! You brought Egypt and us Pokémon to the edge of extinction! And that's the same I'm going to do to you! No one will ever remember your name after I'm done with you...'

"You... you are insane..." Akhenaten whispered.

'Maybe,' the Pokémon shrugged. 'But maybe you'll need a madman to stop a madman.'

And he raised his paw for the killing blow.

The Pharaoh cried out in pain as the blow hit its mark. Lucario pulled back his bloody arm and looked at what he had done with satisfaction.

But then his eyes turned wide when he saw how the body of the Pharaoh pushed itself up one last time. He... was still alive?

"Traitor!" the Pharaoh whispered. "You lied to me! You broke the oath you swore to me and god Aten! You... killed me! Curse you!"

'Silence!' the Pokémon traitor roared. Fear was in his eyes.

"You killed me... and therefore, I will put a curse on you. You won't die... because that would be too simple. You're... going to live! You will never find peace! You will live until the day when a dead man will raise all of these dead warriors from their graves! Only then you can die! That is the curse which Amenhotep IV of Egypt puts on you, traitor!"

And then he died. His body sank back into the hot sand, and Lucario kept standing there for a very long time, trying to ban these last, uncanny words from his mind:

'You're going to live! You will never find peace, until a dead man rises all of these dead warriors from their graves...'


	2. Two mummies

"You're THE Ash? Ash from Pallet Town?"

Ash, Brock, May and Max stopped at the voice coming from behind them.

Leaning against a lamppost was a young man with unkempt, black hair and a white bandana. He was wearing a white leather jacket over a black shirt, and his eyes were twinkling in amusement as he looked at Pikachu sitting atop Ash's head.

"Yeah, I am," Ash replied. "Why do you ask?"

The youngster continued his arrogant grin and came sauntering towards them. "I've heard you are quite the skilled trainer... You caused quite a fuss in both the Indigo and Johto League. In fact, I'm a capable trainer myself... so I thought, maybe you would care for a Pokémon battle."

When hearing the word 'Pokémon Battle', Ash's eyes took on an excited gleam. "You bet I want!"

"But Ash!" May protested. "We just arrived in town... can't we go to the Pokémon Center first? I'm tired and hungry!"

"Bed can wait! A Pokémon Battle can't!" Pikachu hopped down to the ground and Ash turned around his cap. "Okay, where do you wanna fight and what rules?"

"Right over there," the trainer said and gestured to a secluded backyard. "Three on three, no time limit!"

"Fine with me!" Ash grinned.

Pikachu nodded. "Pika pi!"

"Oh, and before we start, I want you to remember my name, just in case you lose... so you know who it was that beat you!" The youngster smugly opened his vest and showed them a tattoo on his shoulder that looked like a Gyarados. "People call me Gyarados Greg... because I destroy my enemies just like a Gyarados destroys towns!"

"Big words," Ash smirked. "Let's see if you can take me on!"

Max sighed as he, his sister and Brock followed them. "And here I thought we could spend one day without having to watch one of Ash's battles..."

"At least it's going to be interesting," Brock said and pulled out a small paper bag. "Popcorn?"

"Hand it over!" May said, grabbed the bag and stuffed her mouth full.

"For the first battle, I choose Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

"Pika!" They could see Pikachu was excited to be in battle again, as his cheeks was giving off sparks.

"A Pikachu... a not-evolved Pokémon. Okay, I know that doesn't have to mean anything. I bet you just think because my name is Gyarados Greg, I would use mainly water Pokémon, eh?"

"Maybe, maybe not!" Ash said. "Let's just see what you have in store!"

"You really are pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?" Greg smirked. "Okay, for our first battle, I choose... Scizor!"

In a flash of light, the metal bug Pokémon appeared. "SCIZOR!"

"Time to begin! Scizor, Metal Claw!"

"Pikachu, Agility!"

And the fight was on.

* * *

"Muuuuk..." the mud Pokémon grumbled as it collapsed under Grovyle's attack.

Greg snarled. "You... you won? You chose a Grass type and won against my Muk? Damn!"

"Well, elements are not the only factor in a fight," Ash said boastfully. "Good job, Grovyle!"

"Grovyle!" his plant pal nodded before Ash returned him into his Pokéball.

Greg stared at him darkly. Ash smirked. "Looks like I won this one!"

"Good job, Ash!" May cheered.

"Just you wait," Greg grumbled. "I'll take a better team next time, and when we battle again..."

"I'm looking forward to it," Ash said. Suddenly, his tummy grumbled. "Oh man, I'm starved! What do you say, Pikachu? You wanna go somewhere for lunch?"

"Pikachu!" the yellow critter nodded.

* * *

After lunch, the foursome was strolling through Dustia City.

Brock looked at the guidebook he acquired at the Pokémon Center.

"No Pokémon Gym in Dustia," he said. "But they've got a huge museum that always has interesting exhibits."

"Sounds interesting," Max said. "You wanna go, May?"

His sister shrugged. "Sure, why not? Hey Ash, what about you?"

"I dunno..." He frowned. "Museums are boring. And I've seen enough of that stuff in the museums back in Kanto."

"Aw, c'mon!" Max said. "We are going, and what are you planning to do in the meantime, with no gym around?"

"Oh well," Ash sighed. "I suppose it can't hurt to take a look..."

* * *

"Whoah!" Max said in awe. "An exhibition about ancient Egypt!"

"Next to Pokémon, archaeology always has fascinated Max," May chuckled as she saw how excited her brother was.

"And look!" Brock pointed out. "This sign here reads that most of the exhibits are from an era when Pokémon and humans in Egypt tried again and again to live with each other, even though there were tensions."

"Pokémon?" Ash was immediately interested. "Let's take a look!"

Max sweatdropped. "You really have a one-way mind, you know that?"

They bought four tickets, but didn't take part in the tour through the museum, as they were especially interested in the Egyptian exhibits. But they were lucky enough to hear a few words the tour guide was telling those visitors that were attending the tour.

"3300 years ago, the tensions between humans and Pokémon in ancient Egypt were reaching their peak. While Pharaoh Akhenaten had tried to include Pokémon in his politics and religious ambitions, most Pokémon weren't too thrilled with what he had in mind and it ended in a revolt."

"Is it true that Pokémon in these times actually believed in the same gods as the humans did?" an elderly woman asked with fascination.

"That is quite true," the guide said with a nod. "Actually, there are researchers that came up with a venturesome theory: They think it might be possible that the humans in these times actually believed that certain, powerful Pokémon were the embodiments of their gods."

"You mean, Legendary Pokémon?" another tourist asked.

"Well, there always have been Pokémon whose existence could have never been completely proven... but since we today know that certain of these Pokémon we call 'Legendary', like Moltres or Suicune, actually exist, it might be very much possible that the old Egyptians believed them to be gods."

"Wow!" Max said. "I can't believe this! The gods the ancient Egyptians had worshipped could have been Legendary Pokémon?"

"Well, since we didn't live back in those times, we can't say for sure what really happened," Brock shrugged.

"Still, it sounds cool," Ash smirked. "Just imagine what life must have been back there..."

"Ash, believe me, you can be very lucky that you didn't have to live back then," Max said with a frown.

"Wow, what's this?" May asked all of a sudden.

The others walked over to her, where two display cases were standing. May was looking at the bigger one. Something resembling a human body was placed inside.

Brock looked at the sign. "Warrior Mummy," he read. "Found during excavations in Saqqara..."

Max shook his head. "What a nonsense!"

"Why is that nonsense?" Ash asked.

Max huffed. "Please! Only the Pharaohs were mummified back then... and maybe a few high priests. This guy was only being wrapped in a few bandages of cloth... and the only thing that 'mummified' him was the dry sand and the hot sun in the desert. His body couldn't rot because all of his bodily fluids had dried up."

Ash looked closer at the mummy. Underneath the ancient bandages, he could see dry skin that looked like leather. Next to the warrior, a long lance was leaning, and on his other side, an ancient shield. In front of his feet, a curved dagger was placed.

"I wouldn't want to meet this guy in the dark," a familiar-sounding voice spoke up.

Ash turned around "Greg?"

Greg smirked at them. "I didn't know you guys were intelligent enough to be interested in ancient cultures."

"Very funny!" May grumbled. "Do you even know where Saqqara is?"

Greg shrugged. "Somewhere in a dry desert, I would guess. Should I care?"

"Well, at least we try to understand where all of this stuff is coming from," Ash grumbled.

Greg ignored him and looked at the smaller show case. "What's this?"

Brock looked past him. "That's a Meowth!"

"A... Meowth?" May asked in a shrill voice. "THAT THING?"

"Sure!" Max nodded. "A Meowth mummy! Didn't you know cat Pokémon were sacred for the ancient Egyptians?"

"Just like those stupid cows in India?" Greg scoffed.

"Somewhat like that! They even had a cat goddess!"

Greg shook his head. "They gave this thing a proper burial, and the poor guy over there was just thrown into the sand..."

Chuckling to himself, Greg walked away from the four friends.

"The nerve..." May said darkly. "I can't stand guys who always think themselves better than others. Max possibly knows at least twice the amount of these things in here than Mr. Gyarados over there!"

"Still, he's somehow right," Brock said. "I feel pity with this man." He meant the mummy. "They just happened to find him in the desert... and then he's being put in a show case so people could stare at him."

And as if the mummy would agree with his words, it opened its eyes.

Brock gasped in shock. Ash and Max let out shouts of surprises and May shrieked when the mummified warrior took a step towards them. Only the wires that were used to attach him to his pedestal were keeping him back.

May stumbled back, hit somebody behind her... and stepped right on Greg's toes.

"OW!" Greg yelled. "Girl, are you crazy? Oh, you're going to get it now!"

Angrily, he grabbed the collar of May's jacket, but she didn't even seem to notice what the white-vested trainer was doing to her.

Her friends watched in horror and fascination as the mummy pulled against its wires... and then it came stumbling out of the show case, in a shower of glass.

Greg and May cried out when suddenly, they got covered with sharp glass shards, and Ash gasped when the mummy's shield shoved him down to the ground. The ancient warrior's lance just missed Brock's face and got stuck in the ground, effectively trapping Ash underneath. Brock stumbled backwards, hit the pedestal with the Meowth's show case... and the case broke apart as well, while the cat mummy rolled out of it and broke in two.

"What... what the heck is going on here?" a loud voice suddenly shouted. "OH MY GOD! What... what have you DONE?"

A portly, bald man with an enormous mustache had appeared, together with an excited crowd. And all of them were staring at the weird scene in front of them:

May and Greg were dizzily sitting in the middle of glass shards and looked at the tiny cuts they received. Ash was trapped underneath an ancient warrior mummy... who was now as still and lifeless as previously... and flailed around with his arms and legs. And Brock was rubbing his head, while next to him, the two halves of a mummified Meowth were lying.

The bald man's face paled visibly, and the tour guide asked him: "Uh, Mr. Dugit? Are you okay?"

Mr. Dugit, the museum's curator, just gasped when he looked at the devastation in front of him. "Everyone... into my office... until... the police arrives! NOW!!"


	3. Anubis

"I see... so everything was just an accident?" Officer Jenny from Dustia City asked.

"It seems so," the warden from the museum nodded. "The wires holding the mummy in place were kinda old, and when the mummy toppled over... its lance broke the show case it was standing in. Its bronze tip may be old, but it's still sharp and solid."

The curator didn't look happy about these turns of events at all. "Are you sure, Moe?" he asked his warden. "You know we always use the finest materials when putting up our exhibits and I..."

"What I mean to say is..." the warden added as he looked grimly at the curator. "That we should have paid a lot more attention on safety of our exhibits, Charles!"

Officer Jenny. "It is alright, Mr. Dugit. Just make sure that it doesn't happen again. Well, and in regards to you kids... I can see that you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Um, that's... too generous, Officer Jenny..." Ash stuttered. He was still dazed by what happened. May and Pikachu didn't look any better.

Brock, on the other hand, gave the policewoman a grin and chuckled: "Oh, I know, she is generous! As much as she is beautiful and smart and beautiful and did I mention beautiful...?"

Max grabbed Brock's ear and dragged him away. "Let's take you back to the Pokémon Center before you say anything stupid and she keeps us here after all..."

"Owowow!" Brock yelped. "Let go, she and me are meant to be..."

May sweatdropped. "He never learns, does he?"

Pikachu shook his head. "Pika pi!"

* * *

Later in the evening, they were spending the night in the Pokémon Center's guest rooms.

Ash looked over at his room mates and blinked. "Sooo... did anyone else notice something weird when that mummy broke out of its display case?"

"You mean like moving on its own?" May giggled nervously. "Nope, can't say I've seen anything like it..."

"But you were standing practically in front of it," Brock said. "Wasn't that the reason you jumped back and... ouch!" He rubbed his shin were Max had kicked him. "What was that for?"

Max glared at Brock intently. "We never saw anything, we never heard anything, we never knew anything of mummies that suddenly come to life. Right?"

"Uh, what do you mean...?"

"RIGHT?" Max asked again.

This time, Brock got it. "OH! Oh, of course... no, we never saw anything like that."

"Yeah..." Ash chuckled. "I mean, it would be pretty weird if something like that happened, right? But imagine, everyone we would tell about it would believe we were kinda cuckoo in the head... Nope, we definitely don't want that..."

May yawned. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm tired. See ya in the morning... g'night..."

But still as Ash was lying in his bed, he couldn't shake the memory of the mummy pulling on its wires, clearly intent on breaking free of its prison.

Pikachu looked at him in worry. "Pika pika?"

"I can't quite sleep, Pikachu. I mean, we all knew what happened. But isn't that supposed to be impossible?"

Pikachu tilted his head. "Pi?"

Ash chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we saw many weird stuff on our journeys... remember how we stood at that harbor and never realized how or why we got there? Or even better, when we helped Lugia near Shamouti Island? Man, those were crazy times..."

Pikachu nodded. "Pika Pikachu!"

He frowned. "But still... we know that Pokémon can become Ghost Pokémon after they die. What if... what if the same thing can happen to humans as well? Only that this wouldn't be a ghost, but a moving... well, a moving mummy." He shivered. Greg was right, he didn't want to meet such a guy in the dark.

"We really should try to get some sleep before my pondering will give me nightmares," he muttered. "Night, Pikachu..."

"Pika..."

* * *

The next morning, the four friends all acted as if nothing special had happened the day before. But Ash still couldn't stop thinking about it...

He only got pulled out of his thoughts when they reached the lobby, and Nurse Joy looked up from her conversation with a middle-aged man with dark skin and a sparse tuft of hair on his head.

"Ash, there you are! This gentleman has just been asking for you. You know Mr. Petach?"

The name sounded familiar, and then Ash remembered that he had met the man once, he was a colleague of his father. Still he wondered what the heck Petach was doing here.

Mr. Petach turned around and looked at Ash with a smile. "Ash, nice to see you again! It has been some time, has it?"

"Um, yeah, I think so... Guys, this is Mr. Petach, a colleague of my Dad. Mr. Petach, these are my friends Brock, May and Max."

"Pika pika!"

"Oh, and my best buddy Pikachu, of course!"

"Ah, I see!" Petach smiled. "So this is your first Pokémon, the one your mother has told me so much about. How are you, my friend?" And he extended his hand to scratch Pikachu behind his ears.

Normally, Pikachu was kinda suspicious towards strangers, but this time, he let it happen. "Pikaaa..." he purred.

"Uh, I don't want to sound rude, Mr. Petach, but... what exactly are you doing here?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know!" Petach laughed bashfully. "You see, I came here to bring you back home to Pallet Town."

"Home?" Ash asked in surprise. He always liked coming back home to his mom, but... "Why now?"

"You see, your father finally found some time to visit you and your mother in Pallet, so I thought you might want to see him too. I just happened to be close by, so I figured: Why not just take you along for the ride?"

"But how did you know Ash was spending the night here?" May asked.

Petach smiled. "It's not too hard to figure out. This is the only Pokémon Center in town, and I guessed that Ash, being a Pokémon Trainer and all, would stay in a Pokémon Center for the night, not in a hotel."

"That makes sense!" Brock nodded.

Ash thought about it. It was tempting. He hadn't seen his father for almost two years. His work as an engineer rarely allowed it to come home. He was working for a big company who often sold high tech equipment for construction companies all over the world.

"What about the Hoenn League?" he finally asked. "I still have to collect several badges before I can attend."

"That would be no problem at all," Petach smiled. "Your father only has enough time to stay over the weekend, and I can always take you back in my car when the weekend is over. How does that sound?"

Ash turned to his pals. "What do you say, guys?"

Brock grinned. "Well, you know I like your Mom's cooking..."

"A short break wouldn't hurt," May shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" Max asked.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu agreed enthusiastically.

Ash turned back to Petach and nodded. "Okay, sure! I can't wait to see Dad again..."

* * *

On their way to the ferry that was supposed to bring them to Vermilion City, Ash remembered something else about Mr. Petach he had forgotten.

Petach was a reeeaaaally slow driver.

Max shuffled around on the back seat while they drove along. He had counted nearly 20 cars that had driven past them since they left Dustia City.

"Why are you driving so slowly?" he finally asked.

Petach looked at him in the mirror, surprised. "But this isn't slow at all."

"Yes, it is," Max protested. "Don't you see that everyone is driving past us? We're barely going 70 kilometers per hour!"

Petach frowned. "This is fast enough. Have you ever realized just how fast that is?"

Ash groaned. That discussion could go on endlessly. Petach was just one of those men who was very old-fashioned about certain things, including fast cars.

May didn't seem to happy either when they drove along a bumpy country road. "How long do we have to endure this torture?" she whined. "If you had taken the freeway, we would have already reached the ferry."

Petach looked as if he wanted to say something else, but suddenly, they could hear a loud bang, and the car swerved to the right. May and Max let out a surprised scream. Petach turned around the steering wheel frantically and just barely avoided driving into a tree. He still managed to get the car back under control, but the sound of the flapping tire told them that they had a puncture.

He stopped the car, pulled the hand brake and sighed. He looked at Max and May with raised eyebrows. "See, if I had driven faster, we would have hit that tree."

"I'll never say anything against slow driving again..." May muttered. "Never again in my life..."

They got out of the car and Petach looked at the tire. "This doesn't look good," he murmured. "Good thing I have a spare tire in my trunk."

"You have to put up the warning signal," Brock pointed out. "We are directly behind a turn, and whoever would come past here wouldn't see us, because of those bushes over there."

Petach grimaced, but had to admit that Brock was right. He took the warning sign out of his trunk and looked at them sternly. "You wait here, I'll be right back. But stay at the car!" And then he walked around the street and vanished behind the bushes.

"Where should we go anyway?" Max huffed. He didn't like the man one bit.

"Let's just hope we manage to get to Pallet Town in one piece," May sighed.

Brock looked up at the sky. "It's already getting dark," he noticed. "We won't be able to reach Pallet before nightfall. I guess we must spend the night on the ferry."

"I don't understand that guy," May said. "He almost sounded as if we were in danger. There aren't any wild Pokémon around here that our own Pokémon can't take on."

"True, but maybe he..." Ash interrupted himself in mid-sentence. "What...?"

"What's wrong, Ash?" Brock asked.

Ash frowned. "I thought I just saw something over there..."

They looked over to the other side of the street... and got startled when they heard a rustling among the bushes. Max gulped. He hoped his sister was right when she said the Pokémon around here were harmless...

And then the bushes parted and a colossal, four-legged creature stepped onto the road.

Ash gasped. "What... what is that thing?" He couldn't see it clearly, but he had the image of a giant beast with sharp claws, billowy wings and a muzzle full of sharp teeth.

And it didn't look friendly.

He reached for a Pokéball. "Torkoal, I choose y..."

"RROOOOOOAAAAAARRRR..." the beast growled, and its voice alone startled the four youngsters and the electric Pokémon so much that they yelled in fright and started running towards the forest that was behind them.

Ash barely noticed what happened to the others, he only concentrated on getting away from this horrifying monster and on running around all those trees, bushes and branches. He could see Pikachu running right behind him.

A tiny part of his brain tried to tell him that this Pokémon might just have used the attack Roar to scare them away, but his legs wouldn't listen for some reason.

He heard Max's sharp yell and gasped as he imagined whatever the creature could be doing to his friends.

He forced his heart to listen to his brain and stopped. "All right, Pikachu, monster or not, but we won't let this thing do with our friends whatever it wants, right?"

"Pika!" Pikachu said with a firm nod.

Together, they ran through the dark woods towards the place where they heard Max's voice... and while they were running, Ash couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen such a monster before...

His thoughts went back to the Egypt exhibition and to the pictures of the gods and mythical creatures that were visible on the vases and urns...

Didn't it look somewhat like a sphinx? That mythical creature with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle and the face of a human?

Ash shook his head. He had to concentrate on a battle, not on some weird nonsense his imagination was feeding him.

Through the trees, he could see a dark shape. He snarled. "All right, monster, I don't know what you are, but I won't let you harm Max. GET HIM, PIKACHU!"

"PIKA!!"

And together, they pounced on the dark figure in front of them.

"GAH!" May yelped as Ash and Pikachu came jumping out of the thicket and pushed her to the ground. "Ash, what's the big idea?"

"M-may?" Ash stuttered. "What... what are you doing?"

May grimaced. "I was trying to find my brother after I heard his yell. But then you two appeared and pushed me down to the ground. Can you finally get up, you're kinda heavy!"

"But if you are here, where is that monster?" Ash asked.

Pikachu raised a paw and gestured at a point behind them. "P-pika pi..."

Ash slowly turned around his head... and saw the horrifying face of the creature, as it stood directly in front of them.

"Rrrrrrraaaaaahhhh!"

Ash gulped. "Oh, this doesn't look good..."

"Ash?" a loud voice shouted. "Where are you kids? What happened?"

Ash as well as the towering form of the creature looked over to where the voice was coming from, and saw a nearly-bald man coming running at them - Petach.

The four-legged monster (was it a Pokémon or a mythological creature?) let out a deep growl, then it blinked... and was gone.

In disbelief, Ash stared at the place where the creature had been standing just seconds ago.

"There you are," Petach wheezed as he arrived next to them. "Whatever were you thinking? I thought I told you children to wait at the car."

May raised her finger. Her whole arm was shaking. "Where... where did it go?"

Petach frowned. "Where did what go?"

"The monster! You must have seen it..."

"There was nothing here but you two! I must say, that was pretty unreasonable of you two. After all, there are wild Pokémon living in these woods that could harm you... and believe me, I'm not questioning your abilities as Pokémon trainers."

Pikachu sniffed the ground the weird beast had been standing on and walked around in circles. Then he looked up at Ash in confusion. "Pika pi? Pika pika?"

"There was something here," Ash frowned. "Or else Pikachu wouldn't act like this..."

Pikachu shook his head. "Pika! Pika pika! Pikachu!"

"Huh?" Now Ash was confused. "You say you can't smell anything? Now that's weird..."

"You... can understand your Pikachu?" Petach asked.

"Well, bits and pieces... it's more of a lucky guess, but up to now, we always managed to get along fine, right, Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded. "Pika!"

Petach rubbed his chin. "Hmmm, fascinating... but still, we shouldn't stay here. Where are your other friends?"

"Well, I... I heard my brother's voice over there," May said.

"I'm here," Max said as he and Brock appeared between them. He rubbed his leg. "I tripped over the vines of a few sleeping Bellsprouts... they got pretty angry that I woke them up."

"It took me some time to free him from the vines," Brock said. "Where did the monster go?"

"Children, I can assure you, there are no monsters of any kind in these woods, just Pokémon!" Petach said. "Now if you would get back to the car so we can continue our way? I don't want to miss the ferry..."

Reluctantly, the four friends sighed and followed the adult. Ash looked back at where he had seen the creature. "I know what I have seen..." he murmured. "And even though Pikachu smelled nothing... something was there. Something weird is going on here, buddy..."

"Pika pi..." Pikachu said and shivered. Ash could see his friend was crept out by the whole situation.

* * *

They managed to get some sleep on the ferry, but not much. The S.S. Aqua was a swift ship that transported passengers and cars between Hoenn, Johto and Kanto, and it only took them a few hours until they reached Vermilion City port.

Another hour of Petach's frustratingly slow driving, and they arrived in Pallet Town.

Ash could see that the light within the house were on, so his parents still had to be up.

Petach and the incredibly tired children walked up to the front door, and Petach rang the doorbell.

The door opened... and Ash's father stood in front of them, a surprised look on his face.

May, Brock and Max looked inquiringly at the member of Ash's family they had never seen before in their lives. Bruce Ketchum was a tall, handsome man in his thirties, with unruly, spiky hair that looked very much like that of his son, only was it brown. He was wearing a pale yellow shirt and a pair of beige-colored pants.

His look of surprise turned into a broad smile when he looked down at Ash. "My boy..."

Ash grinned. "Hi there, Dad!" And both Ketchums gave each other a quick hug, although Ash blushed a bit when his father let go of him.

Then Bruce looked at Petach with a frown. "As much as I am overjoyed to see my son, dear colleague, what was the meaning of this?"

For a while, Ash didn't understand, but when he looked at the ashamed face of Mr. Petach, he realized: His parents didn't know he was bringing them home tonight.

"It just seemed like... the right thing to do," Petach said. "You know I had to take care of things in the Hoenn region, and when I heard that your son was in town, I figured: Why not bring him and his friends along on the way?"

Bruce sighed. "Okay, fine... but please inform me the next time you do something like this." He then looked at May, Brock and Max. "So you are Ash's friends, huh? Deliah told me about you. You are Brock, right?"

"The one and only," Brock grinned as he shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you, sir!"

"And you must be... Misty?"

May laughed. "No, not quite! I am May!"

"Ah, yes!" Bruce grabbed his head in embarrassment. "Ash met you in Hoenn, right? Sorry about the mix-up..."

May smiled. "That's okay! Oh, and this is my little brother, Max!"

"How are you, sir?" he asked.

"My, what a polite young man," Bruce smiled and took Max's hand.

"Pika pika!"

"Ah, and I would never forget Ash's champion Pokémon! Good to finally meet you, Pikachu!" He stroked Pikachu's head fur and the little critter pushed his head back against the hand in pleasure.

Ash's stomach started grumbling. "Um, I don't want to interrupt you, Dad, but... we're kinda hungry and tired from the trip. So if you we could just come inside..."

"Yes, of course! Please, come in, everyone!"

"Thank you, Mr. Ketchum!" Brock said, and everyone walked inside.

Ash headed right for the living room and the kitchen which was behind it. "Man, I can't wait to taste Mom's home cooking..."

"Ash, wait!" his father suddenly shouted. "I forgot to tell you..."

A dark shadow suddenly came shooting out from behind the sofa and stood in front of Ash. Dark eyes were looking at him suspiciously.

"AAAAAHHH!" May screamed. "The monster of the forest! It has come back to get us!"

"Don't be silly, sis!" Max grumbled. "The guy we saw was much bigger than that."

But for a very short moment, Ash had been afraid that this was the same monster he and the others saw in the forest. But except for the fact that they were both four-legged, there wasn't much of a similarity between them.

Bruce looked at the Pokémon sternly. "They are friends, got it? Friends!"

Still, the Pokémon was a prime specimen of its kind... and surprisingly obedient, as Ash noticed when it sat back on its haunches.

"Since... since when do we have a Houndoom?" he asked. After all, they weren't that common in Kanto.

"Ever since that night when a burglar broke in, Ash," his father explained.

"A burglar?" Ash gasped.

"Now calm down!" his father said. "Nothing happened to your mother, and he ran away when Mr. Mime stepped in. Still, when she told me about it, I thought it would be best to get a real watchdog that would scare burglars away."

Ash frowned. "Why didn't she tell me about this?"

"Because I didn't want to make you worry, honey!" his mother said as she and Mr. Mime came from the kitchen.

Ash smiled. "Mom!" He gave her a hug as well. "Hello, Mr. Mime!"

"Mime, Mime!" the psychic Pokémon said and waved. Ash noted the disgruntled look he was giving the Houndoom.

Shortly afterwards, they were all sitting around the living room table and drank some of Deliah's famous tea.

Bruce petted his Houndoom's head fur while sipping from his cup. The dog-like Pokémon murred in contentment.

"Anubis is a very good watchdog," he said. "He once scared off a group of wild Mankeys that were coming close to the house."

"What did you call him?" Petach wondered. "Anubis?"

"I think the name fits, doesn't it?" Bruce smiled. Anubis barked once as if he wanted to say he approved of the name.

"Where is he from?" Max asked with interest.

"From the Pokémon shelter in Goldenrod City," Bruce explained. "I found him there when I was on a business trip in Johto."

"From the Pokémon shelter?" Brock asked in surprise. "Such a magnificent specimen?"

Ash's father didn't say anything, but he smiled down proudly at his Pokémon.

"How did you come here, Ash?" his mother asked. "There's nothing wrong with your Pokémon, is it?"

Ash shook his head, but it was his father who answered. "No, Mr. Petach just thought it would be a good idea to take him along." He didn't bother to hide the annoyance in his voice.

Petach winced. "As I told you, it seemed like a good idea at the moment..."

"Well, we'll talk about that later, dear colleague," Bruce said as he stood up. "But now there are a few things I have to talk to you about regarding our next project..."

"Well..." Ash and his friends didn't hear the rest of the conversation, while the two men walked outside.

"Are you really okay?" Deliah asked in worry. She then saw the scratches on Max's leg. "Oh my, what happened to you?"

The children looked at each other, then Max said quickly: "Eh, it was nothing. The car had a puncture on our way here, near some woods, and I just tripped and fell. That's all!"

Deliah nodded, but didn't look too convinced. She put down her cup. "All right, kids, I know something is on your minds. So what is it?"

Finally, Ash told his mother everything that happened when they were in Dustia City. But he still didn't tell her that the mummy started to move on its own, or even mentioned the scary beast they encountered in the forest.

Deliah gasped. "You... you were there when it happened?"

"You heard of the accident?" May wondered.

Ash's mother nodded. "Yes, I saw it on TV... but they never mentioned that you were the children in the museum that day."

"But why did they show it on TV?" Max asked. "I mean, nothing happened, right? Nobody got hurt..."

"Well, my guess is you didn't stay long enough to notice the rest of the story..." Deliah said. "When the museum's curator went to take a look at the exhibit this morning, just before he was going to open up, the mummies were gone!"

"They are WHAT?" Ash asked in disbelief.

"They are gone!" his mother repeated. "Both of them!"


	4. Bast

Ash and the others actually had the chance to sleep very long this night, and Ash would have chosen to stay in bed for even longer than he did.

The only reason why he woke up early in the morning was because of a wet, slobbery tongue that came out of nowhere and licked his face.

Ash jolted up in his bed and rubbed his face in disgust. Anubis' tongue was almost as big as a washcloth... and at least as wet.

The heavy Houndoom crouched next to his bed, his forepaws placed on the blanket, and Ash could have sworn that the Pokémon was sneering at him.

"What's going on, Ash?" Brock murmured from the ground, where he was sleeping in his sleeping bag.

"Nothing much..." Ash muttered, half-awake. "Anubis just thought he had to wake me up..."

"Oh... well, wake me when breakfast is ready..." Brock murmured, turned around and kept on snoring.

Ash gave the Houndoom a grim look. "Well," he grumbled. "Might as well get up..."

So he started to get out of bed... but Anubis seemed to think that it was still a tiny bit too slow. He jumped up and collided with Ash's backside, sending the boy stumbling out of bed.

Ash cursed while he stood up from the ground. Brock groaned. "If you have to do that, can't you at least be a bit more quiet?"

"Mime! Mime!" Mr. Mime was standing in the door and sternly gestured at the floor. He clearly didn't like the fact that Anubis was sitting on Ash's bed.

The Houndoom gave off an amused growl and jumped off. He gave Ash a final grin and then walked out.

Mr. Mime shook his head and followed him.

"A nice way to start the day..." Ash groaned. He shuffled over to the bathroom to wash his face hastily (after all, Anubis already did part of the job) and went downstairs.

In the kitchen, his mother was already up and preparing breakfast. His father and Petach were sitting in the living room and were watching TV. Ash frowned... he didn't know his father's colleague was staying for the night.

He barely noticed that the two men were watching some news report about some big fire in some city, when he walked up to his Mom and mumbled: "Morning..."

"Good morning, Ash!" his mother said. "I see he already woke you up."

Ash blinked. "He did what?"

Deliah smiled. "Anubis. I sent him up to wake you."

"Ah, yeah, he did, even if it was kinda... wet."

"I know he can be silly sometimes," Deliah giggled. "But he is the most capable watchdog I've ever seen."

About 15 minutes later, May and Max were entering the kitchen. They had spent the night in the house's only guestroom... which made Ash wonder where Mr. Petach had slept.

Max rubbed his eyes. "Morning..."

"Good morning, dears!" Mrs. Ketchum greeted them. "Breakfast?"

"Yes, pleeeeeaase!" May yawned. She looked over to the living room and the TV, where they could see police cars and firemen. "What happened?" she mumbled. "Some sort of accident?"

"Let's talk about that later," Deliah said hastily. "Now we'll have breakfast together... Ash, is Brock awake already?"

As if he had waited for his cue, the teenager with the squinty eyes appeared. "Now I could use one of your legendary fried eggs, Mrs. Ketchum..." he mumbled.

While they were eating, Ash looked outside the window. Pikachu looked up from the apple he was gnawing on. "Pika pi?"

"I don't know..." Ash frowned. "I thought I saw something."

"Maybe just a stray Pokémon," his mother said. "They often come near the houses in winter."

Ash looked closely, but couldn't see anything. Still, he could have sworn he saw something moving among the bushes..."

* * *

"Now, tell me again: Why did we have to follow the twerps all the way from Hoenn?" James asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" Jessie asked. "So we can steal their Pikachu. We still have to pay them back for all those humiliations when we tried to steal it before."

"If ya ask me, I'll bet that in the end, we'll be blasting off again..." Meowth muttered.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, furball!" Jessie snapped.

Meowth shrugged. "Well, I only know that we won't be able to come even close to dat house with dat beast of a Houndoom inside. He'll smell us before we can say 'Pidgey'."

"The only thing I know is that we had no breakfast... and I can smell those delicious eggs from over there."

"Stop your whining, you wimps!" the red-haired female shouted.

* * *

After breakfast, Bruce and Petach came over from where they had been sitting. "So... you all had a good night's sleep?" Bruce asked.

May nodded. "Yes, the bed was very comfortable! Thank you, Mr. Ketchum!"

"Good, good..." Ash's father cleared his throat. "Well, as things turned out, it seems we owe Mr. Petach an apology..."

"What for?" Brock asked.

"You saw the disaster on TV, didn't you?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, but what...?"

"Ash... that was Dustia City!" his father said.

Ash was not the only one to pale. "Wh-what?"

"Didn't you recognize all those buildings?" Bruce asked. "The Pokémon Center, the museum... And nobody knows what really happened. Maybe it was a big fire, maybe an explosion... the police wasn't able to find out what exactly happened. And I am afraid there were several casualties... I just hope it was nobody you knew."

"I-is Nurse Joy all right?" Brock gasped.

"The nurse of the Pokémon Center was lucky enough to survive, and she managed to get most of the Center's current visitors outside of the building."

Ash looked at Petach's face, and Petach gave him a slight nod. Ash didn't know how he knew this, but somehow this proved what he had been afraid of: Greg was among the casualties.

Ash couldn't stand it anymore, he just had to get out of here, away from Petach. His parents looked at him in surprise and his friends gasped. "Ash, where are you going?" Max asked.

"Let him go," Petach said. "All of this must have been too much for him. I'll go and talk to him."

'Great,' Ash thought. Just the man he didn't want to talk to.

Ash sat in front of the house and threw small rocks into a puddle on the road, when Petach came outside. Anubis was standing next to him.

"Who are you?" Ash muttered. "I mean, who are you really?"

"I will try to explain everything," Petach said. "Later, when we have the time. Things are not always as easy as they seem, you know? Some people that might look like our friends turn out to be our worst enemies. And people we don't trust can turn out to be your closest confidants. Please, trust me!"

He reached out with his hand, but Ash didn't take it.

Petach pulled it back. "I see. I understand your decision. But you will understand as soon as you know what all of this is really about."

"Then explain it to me!" Ash demanded. "Explain why this had to happen! How many people died in Dustia today, Petach? Five? Ten? One hundred?"

"I was not part of that, Ash," Petach said. "You have to believe me."

And part of Ash really believed him. But that didn't make things better.

"But you knew," he said. "You knew what would happen and that's why you brought me home, right?"

"Yes," Petach admitted. "I knew... something would happen. Something terrible. You would be dead if you had stayed in Dustia, Ash!"

"You... you could have warned them!" Ash stuttered. He knew that would have been easier said than done. Who would have believed him?

But this realization only made it worse. Now Ash felt that it was his fault what happened to the people in Dustia.

* * *

Ash spent the rest of the day with his Pokémon, in the garden. His friends could see he was in thought, but they didn't ask him what was on his mind. Instead, they tried to distract him by asking him about his battles against the Hoenn Gym Leaders, or by suggesting to visit Prof. Oak. But Ash didn't really feel like talking. He was just asking himself the very same question again and again: Why was this happening? And did it happen because of him?

In the end, he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to talk to someone about all of this. He wondered if he should tell his friends... but then again, he really only knew one person that always had understood him.

He walked past the living room, where Petach and his father were sitting and watching TV. "Hello, Ash!" his father said. "You wanna join us?"

Ash shook his head. "No, thank you! I need to talk to Mom. Where is she?"

"Upstairs, packing my bags," his father said. "You know I can only stay one day, right?"

Ash nodded and walked to the stairway, to go to his mother and...

Anubis ran past him and blocked his way.

Ash looked at the Houndoom in confusion. "Hey, what's the big idea?" He tried walking past the Pokémon, but every time he tried it, Anubis bared his teeth and let out a small growl.

Now that was absurd. Why should Anubis hinder him from going upstairs to talk to his mother?

Was it because Anubis heard what he and Petach had said to each other? Did he know Ash wanted to tell his mother about what happened?

But how was he supposed to know? He wasn't a Psychic Pokémon, he couldn't possibly read his mind.

Ash sighed. Oh well, if he couldn't talk to his mother, he would have to tell his father. He didn't even mind that Petach was present.

But when he turned around and walked back to the living room, Anubis once again ran past him, and for a short while, Ash really believed that he would now block his way into the living room.

But instead of doing that, Anubis ran to the door, barked as loud as he could and scratched the door.

"What's wrong with that dog?" Bruce asked in surprise as he heard the barking.

* * *

"Do you hear that, Jess?" James asked. "You think that crazy Pokémon might have caught our scent?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he caught your scents," Jessie said. "You always stink like wet Growlithe fur."

"Maybe there's another Pokémon around here..." Meowth guessed. Then he heard something behind him, and he turned around. "Huh?"

"Delcatty?"

Meowth blinked. "Hey, guys, would you look at this? It's a Delcatty!"

"Wow, they aren't too common around here," James said in awe. "You think we should try to catch it?"

"That's not a bad idea, since I know the boss likes pretty cats with soft fur, heheheheh!" Meowth snickered.

Jessie crawled towards the feline Pokémon. "Now, be a good Delcatty and let Mama Jessie put this collar around your neck, okay... OW!!"

"What happened?" James asked in surprise as the Delcatty suddenly hissed, jumped over their heads and ran towards the house.

Jessie put her finger in her mouth. "The damn thing bit me..." she grumbled.

* * *

"You think he scented a wild Pokémon?" Ash asked his father while Anubis continued to scratch at the door.

"Maybe, but he has never reacted like this before. Anubis, stop it! You'll ruin the whole door!"

But since the Houndoom didn't comply, Ash's father had no other choice but to open the door.

A small yellow shape came running in between Ash's legs and dashed into the living room. Anubis gave off an excited bark and ran after whatever it was.

"What happened?" May asked as she, Brock and Max came running from behind the house, where they had taken care of their Pokémon."

"Something... something just came running in and now Anubis has gone all crazy!" Ash said.

It was true. The small yellow shape was running wildly in-between the furniture, never touching anything. But Anubis came running after it like a living bulldozer, knocking chairs over and throwing a lamp from the table. When he collided with the cupboard, several of the glasses inside fell down to the ground and broke.

"Oh my god!" Bruce gasped. "Has that dog gone mad? Anubis, STOP!"

And just then Ash realized what it was that Anubis was chasing... it was a small cat Pokémon with yellow and purple fur... a Delcatty! And just when he realized it, the Delcatty came jumping off the TV and landed in his arms.

Ash winced when he saw how Anubis came running at him, his jaws wide open. He saw how the Houndoom aimed for the Delcatty's head and...

The deadly bite never came. When Ash opened his eyes, he saw that Anubis was licking the cat Pokémon's whole body with his tongue while the Delcatty was purring in delight.

Was all of this just one big game of tag for both of them?

"Oh this... this stupid dog!" Bruce said again and again. He looked at the ruined living room in disbelief. "What... what did those crazy Pokémon do?"

May looked at Anubis and the Delcatty. "Wow, now that's a beautiful Delcatty! And look how good they get along with each other... as if they were old friends."

Ash shuddered when he heard what May said. Somehow, he felt that she was right. And that this friendship was much older than any of them would suspect.

Maybe even several thousands of years old.

* * *

In the evening, it started to snow.

Now it wasn't unusual for snow to fall in Pallet Town, after all, it was winter. But Ash had never before seen such an enormous snow storm outside. One could think Articuno himself was flying outside.

As he and his friends couldn't do much outside, they sat in the living room and played a round of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

"Where are your parents, Ash?" May asked as she put down a card.

"Over at Professor Oak's," Ash said. "He always wanted to show my father a few of his old books, and he barely had the chance, as Dad isn't home too often... Your turn, Brock!"

"You think your father is angry about what happened?" Brock asked as he looked into his cards.

"Eh, probably. But he never stays angry for very long. In the end, he will probably blame the Delcatty... he would never admit that the Pokémon he brought into the house was responsible for the chaos."

"You looked kinda upset too when you looked at Anubis," May said. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"I don't know, he just..." Ash shivered. "He gives me the creeps when he looks at me. Don't you think so?"

"Well, at least he's a very intelligent Houndoom," Max said while he put down his card and smiled. "Looks like I won!"

"Again?" May groaned. "Oh man... let's do something else, okay? I don't want Max to win again..."

Brock took the TV's remote control and pressed a button.

He frowned. "Only static. The storm must be really bad."

Ash looked outside. He could barely see anything except a white chaos.

But when he looked closely, he could swear that he was seeing something... or someone... among the snowflakes. A person?

He shook his head. "I wonder what Petach is doing. That guy acts even stranger than Anubis. You know, he acted as if he knew who was responsible for the accident in Dustia."

"Well, he certainly is..." Brock stopped himself in mid-sentence and frowned. "Guys, do you hear that?"

They all listened... and then they could hear it as well: A strange humming noise, coming from the office of Ash's father. It almost sounded like music, a strange chant made of words that neither of them could understand.

"Is that... Petach?" Max wondered. "What's he doing up there?"

They put away the cards and walked upstairs to take a look.

Ash opened the door leading to the office... and they were witnessing a very strange scene.

Petach was sitting in the middle of the room, cross-legged. His arms were half-raised and his eyes closed, while he was chanting his strange song. Two bowls that were filled with a strange burning material were being put on the floor next to him, creating two blue flames that smelled... strange. All kinds of unknown figurines and small, decorated stones were strewn across the room.

Anubis was sitting near the chanting man, looking at him intently. And just to his left, they could see the Delcatty that had caused such a stir earlier this day.

It was eerie, and maybe it was just a coincidence, but Petach and the two Pokémon were forming an equilateral triangle. Neither of them had noticed the four youngsters that had appeared in the door.

Pikachu crawled backwards. "Pikaaa..."

"Come on, let's leave him alone," Max whispered. They turned to leave, but then Anubis opened his eyes and barked once.

Petach looked at them and was clearly surprised. "Oh, it's you children!" He was clearly embarrassed. "How... how long have you been standing there?"

Ash wasn't too sure what he should say. "Well, we heard a strange noise..."

"The wind... yes, that must have been the storm," Petach said with a nervous smile." He got up from the ground.

He noticed that May was looking at the Delcatty and he smiled. "I see you are surprised about Bast."

"Bast?" May wondered.

"The Delcatty," Petach explained. "After your father already named the Houndoom Anubis, it just seemed fitting to call her that. You know, Bast is the Egyptian goddess of cats."

Nobody said anything for a few seconds. Petach then sighed. "I guess I owe you an explanation."

"Well, that would be a beginning," Brock said. He felt uneasy, for some reason. He looked down at the strewn figurines and the other stuff. "Where did you get all of this?"

Petach smiled. "Oh, this is my little collection. I'm a collector of Egyptian antiques, you know? And when you came in, I was just... Well, no matter. I think I should start at the beginning..."

Petach sat down again and gestured that they should do the same. He looked at the still burning, blue flames and made a gesture with his right hand. Immediately, the flames went out.

"Who are you?" Ash murmured. "How did you do that?"

Petach sighed. "Do you believe in ghosts, Ash?"

"I believe in Ghost Pokémon, but not in white figures that float through old castles and rattle with their chains."

"Well, in a sense, I am a ghost, even if I don't carry any chains and am, by all means, a being of... flesh and blood."

Ash noticed the slight hesitation in his voice, but Petach just kept on talking: "To understand what happened in Dustia, and the reason why we are here today, I have to tell you a story. Ash, your father already told you that I am from Egypt, did he?"

Ash remembered how his father had mentioned it once or twice, and he nodded.

Petach nodded back. "Well, every nation has its own legends, its own gods and demons. The only thing all of the people on Earth share are the same sky... and the Pokémon. But every human culture has created its own gods and spiritual beings. The Greeks had Zeus and the other gods of Mt. Olympus. The Norse people had the Aesirs, such as Odin and Thor."

He made a small pause before he continued: "The Egyptian gods were Anubis and Ra, Aten, Bast, Isis, Horus and Osiris, and many, many more. But to understand my story, you have to understand one very important thing: Those beings that the humans worshipped as gods really existed."

"What?" Max asked. "But that's... that's impossible!"

"No, my boy, it isn't," Petach said softly. "Think about it, what exactly is it that makes gods and demons real? They are nothing but the essence of what we believe. Do you really think that such beliefs and wishes are just illusions?

I admit, they are not quite the same gods you imagine when you hear their words. But, once upon a time, human have been very superstitious and gullible. They have seen the incredible powers of the Pokémon and used them for their own advantage. But they could do nothing against the might of the most powerful of all Pokémon... the ones you call 'Legendaries'. And in their beliefs, they saw in them what we hear today in their old legends: The old gods of ancient Egypt."

"Unbelievable..." May murmured. "Is that really true?"

"I can assure you they do, my girl!" Petach nodded. "They all really existed and they had been very powerful, for the Egyptian realm had existed for a very long time."

"And they... still exist today?" Ash whispered. Pikachu shuddered. Petach nodded.

Max looked at the two Pokémon. "So those two are... Bast and Anubis?"

"Well, they are not Legendary Pokémon, but I already figured that they can't be normal Pokémon... they are filled with knowledge and wisdom. Maybe... these are two of their incarnations... I thought the attacker in the woods was Anubis, but... I'm not too sure of that anymore."

Ash looked at the middle-aged Egyptian in surprise. "So you did see it after all? And you said you didn't..."

"I... had to be certain," Petach said. "Please try to understand me, but I realize that I made a mistake. I should have told you from the very beginning. I hope you can forgive me."

"So, is that all there is to your story?" Brock asked.

"Not quite, Brock," Petach said. "See, there once was a god called Aten. Originally, the ancient Egyptians worshipped dozens and hundreds of different deities in their temples... but then, a new Pharaoh ascended to the throne. His name was Amenophis IV... but most people nowadays know him under the name Akhenaten. Akhenaten was a very intelligent man and in spite of his youth, very wise."

An expression of sadness and pain appeared on Petach's face as soon as he mentioned the name of Akhenaten. "He had a vision," he explained. "He didn't want the humans to worship many gods because of fear, they only should worship one single god, and only because of commitment and gratitude. And then, one night, he saw something that changed everything in his life... he saw a comet in the night skies, a comet that was shining as bright as the sun. And therefore, he claimed that his one and only god would be the god of the sun... Aten!"

"But... the gods didn't allow it, right?" May asked.

"Not the gods," Petach said. "The humans did it, his own people. The priests of the other gods felt betrayed. They rallied all of the displeased people and waited for the right moment."

"They... they killed them?" Ash asked.

Petach nodded grimly. "It was a trap. They were working together with the Pokémon that were worshipping the very same Pokémon gods, and the killer of Akhenaten was one of his closest confidants, maybe the only friend Akhenaten ever had. It happened within a deep canyon in a desolate area. Akhenaten was on his way to Thebes, to meet his wife, Nefertiti. Akhenaten's men fought bravely, but they were helpless against the might of the opposing Pokémon army. Akhenaten fled, but the traitor followed him... and killed him. Akhenaten did not even defend himself."

Ash and the others felt that what Petach was telling them was much, much more than just a story.

"But... the gods survived, did they?" Max asked.

"Yes," Petach said. "And Akhenaten was responsible. He cursed his murderer. With his last breath, he put a curse on him, a curse that wouldn't allow him to die until the dead warriors that fought for him would rise again from their graves."

"But Akhenaten lived more than 3000 years ago," Brock protested. "Nobody could live for such a long time."

"You mean: Nobody is supposed to live for such a long time. Humans are afraid of the death, although they don't see that it actually is a present, as much as life is. But no punishment is eternal, my children! The prophecy will be fulfilled, and the dead will rise from their graves. 3000 years are enough, don't you think? No crime is so bad that someone has to suffer for such a long time."

"But why... why are you telling all of this to us?" May asked.

Petach was going to reply, but then a massive blow hit the window behind them, made the glass break, and within seconds, the whole room was filled with snow and ice that was being blown inside by the raging storm.

Ash winced as he felt the stinging cold and slowly stood up. He held his arm in front of his face for protection and noticed how Pikachu was slowly rising to his feet as well.

Anubis started to bark as loud as he could and tried snapping at the storm with his jaws, while Bast had already disappeared underneath the heavy armchair of his father.

"Ash!" Petach shouted against the loud roaring of the storm. "The window! We have to close it! Help me!"

"Oh my god!" May yelled. "What kind of storm is that?" She could see a strange light that was coming outside, and it felt as if the storm was concentrating mainly on the window they were sitting behind.

"That is no normal storm," Petach gasped as he and Ash tried to close the window. "That is..."

Ash then gasped as he looked outside. "LOOK! DOWN THERE!"

Outside, in the middle of the chaotic maelstrom of snow, wind and glass shards, they could see a figure... a figure that was roughly human, was wrapped in ancient bandages and was carrying a shield and a deadly lance.

It was the mummy! The mummy from the museum!

And it had come to finish what it started.


	5. When Undead attack

The realization stunned Ash for a while. But they barely had any time to be surprised when suddenly, the mummy raised its arms, and SOMETHING... flew at the window!

"Get out!" Petach screamed and gave Ash and Max, who stood next to him, a firm push. He then turned around and spread his arms, as if he was going to catch whatever was coming at them.

A bright, blinding light enveloped his whole figure, and they all could see how he was staggering backwards. But slowly, he pushed the strange power backwards, until the light disappeared.

He turned around. "Step into the circle! I'll try and stop him!"

"No way!" Ash shouted. "We have Pokémon! We should fight him!"

"We have no time to argue!" Petach's voice sounded like he was in panic. "Just do it!" And he ran out of the room, to face the mummy outside.

Max looked at his sister, and May shrugged. "What should we do, Ash?" she asked.

Ash gritted his teeth. "I don't know what this thing wants from us, but if Petach thinks I'll stay just hear and let that mummy get him, he's deadly wrong!"

"I'll help you!" May said with determination.

Max nodded. "Yeah, me too!"

"No, Max!" Max turned to face her brother. "It's too dangerous! Please, stay up here. Brock, can you watch out for him?"

Brock nodded. "No problem, we'll stay here, you go and help the old man."

Ash and May nodded, and followed by Pikachu, they ran downstairs.

Max sighed. "She always leaves me behind..." He then looked at the 'circle' Petach had mentioned. It was a circle made of several stone figurines that were lying on the ground, all of them Bug Pokémon. They were mostly made of clay, but also of stone and iron.

But what surprised them most was that they weren't immobile anymore... they were crawling in a circle and let their bodies scrape against each other, which created a weird rustling and scraping sound.

"Creepy..." Max muttered. "Should we listen to his advice and step in?"

Anubis and Bast, who had come out from beneath the armchair, nodded at them.

Brock shrugged. "Well, they seem to know what's best, so why argue?"

* * *

"Petach!" Ash shouted as they reached the lower end of the stairs. "Where are you?"

"Stay up there, Ash!" they could hear his voice coming from somewhere. "He's too powerful for you and your Pokémon!"

"Forget it!" Ash snapped.

May gestured to their left. "I think they are in the hallway."

When they stepped through the door, they stared at the scene in front of their eyes. The mummy was standing in the middle of the front door, with its lance in its hands. The snow storm from outside blew past it and pushed Petach backwards. Somehow, they could see that the undead creature was somehow controlling the storm. But there was something else, a creepy yellow aura that surrounded the dead warrior's bandaged body.

"GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM!" Petach shouted and fought against the invisible force that was pushing him back. "YOU HAVE NO POWER HERE! GO BACK TO YOUR DARK MASTER!"

"PETACH!" Ash shouted. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"PI-KAAA-CHUUUUUUU!"

The crackling electric attack surged forth at the mummy... and completely dissipated when it hit the blazing aura that surrounded the creature's body. Pikachu was not the only one to gasp in surprise.

"No way!" Ash said.

Petach turned around his head to look at them. "Why don't you listen to me? Go up and step into the circle, you are safe in there!"

"No way!" Ash protested, and at the same moment, May screamed: "LOOK OUT!"

The mummy had moved. With a single step, it had entered the house. It raised its lance high above its head and trusted it downwards at Petach. But the elderly man was much more agile than he looked like... he effortlessly dodged the attack, grabbed the mummy's arm and threw it across the room.

"Maybe... maybe I should use another Pokémon..." Ash muttered and grabbed one of his Pokéballs. "Grovyle, I choose you!"

"Grovyle!" the plant Pokémon exclaimed as it left its Pokéball. Then it started to shiver. "Gr-r-r-r-ov-v-v-vyle..."

"Ash, he won't stand a chance within that blizzard!" May protested.

"Uh, yes, you're right..." Ash murmured. "Grovyle, return!"

After calling Grovyle back, Ash chose another Pokémon. "Corphish, it's your turn!"

"Corphish!" the big lobster said, snapping its pincers.

"Corphish, Bubblebeam!" Ash commanded.

"Cooooorrrrrrr..." Obeying his friend, Corphish fired a powerful stream of bubbles through the snow at the mummy.

Its bandages body got completely soaked, but the attack didn't seem to have any other effect.

"Well, that certainly didn't help..." May said nervously. "M-maybe we should listen to him and go back up..."

"No way!" Ash shouted. "Corphish, use..."

He had no time to shout the order, as the mummy suddenly was standing next to him and smacked his head with the shaft of its lance.

Ash groaned. "Goodnight, mummy..." he muttered, then he fell over!

"ASH!" May screamed, then yelped as the undead warrior stabbed his lance at them.

"Corphish!" yelled the lobster as he jumped at the mummy, snapping at its arm with his massive pincer. The powerful attack severed the mummy's left arm from its body, but that still didn't faze their creepy opponent.

But then Petach was behind the mummy and grabbed its body with both arms. "Bring Ash upstairs!" he shouted. "You'll be safe in the circle!"

"O-okay..." The sight of an elderly man who fought against a thousand year old mummy in the middle of a snow storm seemed to convince May that it may be the best if she did what Petach said. She heaved Ash's body over her shoulder, and with the help of Pikachu and Corphish, she dragged him upstairs.

In the office, she found Max and Brock sitting in the middle of a circle of living clay figurines.

She sweatdropped. "That's the protective circle?"

Max shrugged. "Hey, don't ask me! I don't know if it works or not."

"Well, let's hope Petach knows what he does," May grimaced as she lifted Ash's body in the middle of the circle, careful not to step on any of their tiny guardians.

"What happened to him?" Brock asked.

"A hard blow to the head, that's all," May sighed. "But if it weren't for Petach and Corphish, we wouldn't be standing here... Thanks, Corphish!"

She petted the lobster Pokémon's head, and Corphish grinned bashfully.

"Wait a minute..." Max suddenly said. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" May asked. "I don't hear anything."

"That's just it," Max said. "It's too quiet."

He was right: The only sound they could hear was the noise of the storm outside and the scraping of the crawling bug figurines.

"You think... he beat him?" May asked in a worried tone of voice.

All hopes she had were shattered when the door opened up... and the mummy stood in front of them. Behind him, they could see the limp form of Petach, as he slowly slid down the wall... and they also could see the lance that was sticking through his body, its bronze tip clearly visible as it pierced the old man's back. Blood was seeping from the deadly wound, and it also was smeared upon the wall his body was leaning against.

May yelped in horror while Max closed his eyes. Brock stood up and reached for his Pokéballs. Anubis growled and bared his teeth while Bast hissed at the undead creature.

"Well..." Brock murmured. "Either Petach's protection circle works... or we're in serious trouble!"

Max, May and Brock nervously awaited the mummy's attack, while Anubis was baring his teeth and Corphish aggressively snapped his pincers.

The mummy didn't make any impression as if it was intimidated by the two Pokémon's actions. It simply made a step forward... and hesitated.

The tiny bug figurines that were part of the circle that surrounded the humans and the Pokémon suddenly swarmed over the undead's foot... and gnawed it off within seconds. The only remaining thing were the bones.

The mummy stared down at its skeletal foot and seemed unsure how to react.

Even though they were still in danger, Brock couldn't help but grin. "What's wrong? Can't come any closer?"

"Come on, they are already waiting for you!" May teased.

Finally, the mummy reacted. It pulled back its foot and instead, aimed with the lance at the bugs.

"It can't possibly want to spear every single one of them, can it?" May muttered.

That wasn't really what the mummy had in mind... instead, it just moved the bronze tip around the scuttling insects... and May gasped when she saw how they all turned back into lifeless clay, stone and iron.

"Well, now it's up to you guys," May gulped and looked at the Pokémon. "Hopefully Petach wasn't kidding when he said they were really the incarnations of Anubis and Bast..."

They all knew that they had little chances of winning if that wasn't the case. All they could possibly do was throwing with clay bugs at the ancient warrior.

That gave Max an idea. When he saw the bowls with the still burning blue fire within, he carefully picked up a tiny piece of the bandages that the bugs had shredded off the mummy's foot... and threw it into the fire.

The ancient material instantly got consumed by the hot flames.

Max gasped. "Sis, did you see that?"

May nodded. She now knew what to do and picked a Pokéball.

"Combusken, help us!"

"Combusken!" cried her fiery chicken Pokémon as it appeared out of its Pokéball.

May gestured at the mummy. "Combusken, use Ember!"

Combusken obeyed and fired a barrage of small, but hot ember pieces at the undead.

The fire attack was weak... against normal Pokémon. But when faced with an undead creature whose whole body was made of an extremely flammable material, it was an entirely different story.

The fire spread faster than even May could have predicted herself, and within seconds, the whole mummy was ablaze. Only a few minutes later, the fire was extinguished by the snow that was still coming in through the window, and all that remained from their undead opponent was a small pile of ashes.

May stared at the mummy's remains in awe, then she smiled at her fowl friend. "Good work, Combusken!" She then glared at Anubis. "You know, you could have done that yourself!"

Anubis only replied by flattening his ears and giving off a small whine of apology.

Bright flashes from outside and a loud concerto of infernal noises made them all jump in surprise.

"I don't think it's over just yet," Max gulped.

Just then, Ash woke up with a groan. "Oh man, what hit me...?"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu greeted his friend.

Suddenly, heavy blows against the front door could be heard.

"Wha... what's going on?" Ash asked in surprise, jumping to his feet.

"Well, the mummy that attacked you is toast... but who knows how many of those things are out there, arguing which one of them has the honor of killing us first..." Brock muttered.

Ash gritted his teeth. "They're never gonna get me..." he grumbled. "Let's goooo..."

"Ash, wait!" May gasped in surprise when Ash suddenly stormed out of the room and down the stairs.

Ash turned around the corner, ready to attack every mummy with his Pokémon... when he suddenly ran against a young woman wearing a blue uniform.

Officer Jenny looked down at him in worry. "What happened? Calm down! Are you hurt? What happened here?"

Ash sighed in relief when he realized that the 'mummies' that had forcefully opened the front door were no other than Officer Jenny and other members of her police force. "Petach..." he stammered. "On the first floor... and the mummy..."

The policewoman couldn't have possibly understood most of what Ash was uttering, but she still turned around to one of her colleagues and said: "Go and take a look upstairs! One of the windows up there is broken."

The policeman nodded and ran past the young Pokémon trainers.

Ash and the others looked past Officer Jenny and couldn't believe their eyes: There was no sign of any snow storm outside. It was as if the storm had never happened. There was still snow lying outside, but the air was as clean and silent as it had been the morning before.

"So, what exactly happened, you kids?" Jenny finally asked when no one said anything. "Was there a burglar? The neighbors heard strange noises and called us, you know?"

She then noticed the shocked state most of them were in... and that every one of them was shivering. "Are you okay? Shouldn't I call for an ambulance?"

"We... we're fine..." May muttered. Her Combusken watched her with worry, but he wasn't there when she saw how Petach got killed by the mummy's lance.

So it certainly was a surprise when Jenny's colleague came back downstairs... and following him was no other than Petach. His shirt was torn, and he looked a bit exhausted, but otherwise, he was fine.

Jenny noticed the stares of disbelief the children were giving the man and she asked Ash: "Is that him? That Petach guy?"

"Y-yeah..." Ash muttered and swallowed. "That's him..."

But how did that happen? They clearly saw how the lance's tip had pierced his body. No human being could have survived such an injury or even recovered from such a wound in such a short time.

"I suppose I should really call for an ambulance..." Jenny muttered and reached for her walkie-talkie.

But Petach raised his hand and made a reassuring gesture. "I don't think that will be necessary."

Officer Jenny hesitated. Out of the speaker, Ash could hear a voice that was asking for the reason of her call. Jenny stared at the walkie-talkie with glazed eyes, then she shrugged and switched it off.

Petach turned to face the other police officers and smiled. "Everything is fine now, gentlemen! There was a break-in, but the burglar has already fled. The children are not hurt."

And again his words had the same spooky effect: The two uniformed men that had accompanied Jenny looked at each other in confusion, then they shrugged and walked back outside.

Shortly afterwards, the police car that had been standing outside was already gone. Only Officer Jenny's motorbike was still there.

"How did you do that?" May whispered.

Petach smiled. "Oh, that was easy. Manipulating humans is very simple if you know what they really want. Or would you prefer I told them what really happened?"

"But how could you have survived that attack?" Ash asked. "I saw how the mummy stabbed you, with my own eyes!"

"That was just a scratch..." Petach said hastily. "Look for yourself, not a single wound."

Ash wasn't really satisfied with that answer, but he knew Petach wouldn't tell him more right now.

But he really would have had no other chance of asking the Egyptian what happened, because right in that moment, his father's car stopped in front of the house and his parents came in.

"Ash!" his mother gasped when she saw her son standing there, with wet clothes, surrounded by his friends and several Pokémon, and on top of that, with a police bike standing in front of the house. "Oh my god! What happened?"


	6. Petach's Story

"A burglar?" Ash's father wondered. "Again? And what about the dog?"

"Well, I guess they must have missed him," May tried to joke. Nobody laughed.

"Still, your son and his friends were very brave when they used their Pokémon to drive him away," Petach smiled.

"Careful, Petach..." Ash murmured, so quiet that his parents couldn't hear him. "You can't fool the whole world, you know?"

For a while, Petach angrily glared at Ash... but only for a short moment, then he laughed nervously.

"Sir, could I ask you a few questions?" Officer Jenny then asked Bruce.

"You don't need the children for that, do you?" Ash's mother asked. When the young police officer shook her head, Deliah lead ash and the others back inside.

Before he left, Ash took one last look at Petach and Officer Jenny. He then noticed how the policewoman frowned while looking at the floor. And when he followed her eyes, he saw one of the tiny clay insects that had formed the protective circle. It had taken a few short steps, and then fell back on its backside, once again as lifeless as the clay it was made of. Petach quickly made a movement with his hand, and Jenny shrugged and ignored the tiny figurine.

Ash frowned at the Egyptian and followed his mother and friends inside.

Inside, Deliah took a look at her son and said in a worried voice: "You're all wet! What happened to you?"

"W-well, when the burglar broke in, he opened one of the windows... and snow came in," Max nervously explained.

The four friends looked at each other. Even though they couldn't freely speak about what happened, Ash was determined not to tell his mother what really happened... Ash wasn't really sure if she would believe him.

"You all must be freezing," Deliah said. "I think it's best if you all take a nice shower, or a warm bath."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," May nodded. Her teeth were chattering, and the others were shivering as well... although Ash didn't know if he was just shivering because of the cold or because a 1000-year old mummy had tried to kill them just a few minutes ago...

He agreed to let his friends use the bathroom first. Later, when he was coming out of the shower, he felt much better.

Later, when he came into the living room, he realized that Officer Jenny was still there. His mother was just offering her a cup of coffee.

"Ash!" his father said. "You feeling better?"

Ash nodded and sat down next to his friends. May leaned over to him and whispered: "Say, shouldn't we tell them what really happened?"

"And risk being marked as crazy kids by Officer Jenny?" Ash whispered back. "No, thank you!"

Brock sighed. "As far as I am concerned, I am crazy... crazy with love..." He had hearts in his eyes when he looked at the policewoman.

Max pulled his friend's ear. "Cut it out, Romeo!" he grumbled.

Ash's father then cleared his throat. "Well, now that you all..." He interrupted himself and frowned when he saw how a small, yellow and purple-furred Pokémon had entered the room and lay down on the floor, cleaning her front paws.

"Why is this little monster in the house?" he asked.

"Hey, Bast is no monster!" May protested. "She saved our lives!"

When Bruce looked at her curiously, Ash snickered and said: "Um, I guess 'saved our lives' is a bit over the top... but she was the one who warned us when the burglar broke in."

"Bast?" his father wondered.

Ash shrugged. "I think the name fits..."

Bruce sighed. "Fine. I admit defeat, she can stay. After all, it won't be for long..." He turned to Officer Jenny. "Well, I hope my answers were of any help."

"We'll see," she said. "I think this was about it. I really must be going now. My superior officers will wonder where I am."

She stood up, thanked Ash's mother for the coffee and turned to leave... but then she looked at Ash and smiled. "Say, you want to accompany me to the door?"

"Wh-whaaaat?" Brock gasped. But the others were surprised as well, Ash included.

"Um, I guess I can do that," he finally muttered. He looked at his friends, shrugged and followed Jenny to the door.

At the front door, Jenny turned around to face him. "That must have been frightening, right?" she asked. "Then again, as a Pokémon Trainer, you are used to unfriendly fellows..."

"You can say that again," Ash nodded. He was a bit confused as for why the young woman wanted him to come along. Did she suspect that something odd had happened after all?

Jenny pulled a small card out of her breast pocket. "Here, my address. My private number is on the backside... in case you'd like to call me."

"B-b-but why??" Ash asked.

Jenny smirked. "Because I have the feeling that something is not right here. Just keep it, okay? And if there's something more you'd like to tell me... just give me a call!" She winked at him, then she left.

For some reason, Ash suddenly felt as if the older woman had just hit on him...

* * *

This night, Ash had a bad dream... He dreamt that he was walking along a dark underground corridor. It was so dark that he was only able to see his surroundings dimly.

And something was behind him. Every time he turned around and took a look, he couldn't see anything, but he could feel that something was there, chasing him through the darkness. And it was coming closer.

Ash screamed as he sat up in bed. His heart was pounding, and sweat was running down his body. He knew it had just been a dream, but for some reason, that didn't calm him down. On the floor, he heard soft snoring... his scream, surprisingly, hadn't woken Brock from his slumber.

Pikachu raised his head, looking at his friend with worry. "Pika pi?"

Ash sighed. "I'm fine, Pikachu..." he muttered

He felt something heavy on his legs. When he looked down, he saw that Bast had decided to recline on his feet.

The door opened, and Ash blinked when bright light shone into his eyes. Bast hissed as the light rudely awakened her, and she jumped off Ash's bed and out of his room.

May peered inside. "Ash... are you okay? I heard your voice..."

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Ash muttered and rubbed his temples. "I just had a bad dream..."

"I can imagine, after this night..." May sighed. "By the way, good morning! Your mother wanted me to tell you that breakfast is ready... and if you want to try your luck, you might want to wake Brock as well."

"Yeah, I'm surprised I didn't wake him," Ash snickered.

Later, he and Brock went downstairs to have breakfast. May and Max were already sitting at the table, together with Ash's parents and, to Ash's annoyance, with Petach. Anubis and Bast were eating out of two dishes of different sizes on the floor.

"Good morning, Ash!" his father smiled. "Sit down, we have a few things to discuss."

"Oh, really?" Ash asked as he and Brock sat down. "What is it?"

His father gestured at the papers that were lying in front of him. "Well, it looks I can't stay for much longer... you remember how I told you about this big contract my company made with that huge corporation in Egypt? Well, looks like they need me on-site, so I can take a look at the project..."

Ash sighed. "I guess that's okay..." he murmured. It wasn't the first time his father had to leave for a long trip around the world, but it still bothered him to know that it could take a couple of years before he'd be able to see him again.

"That's not all," Bruce continued. "See, your mother is coming with me..."

Now Ash looked at his parents with big eyes. "Wh-what? But how? Since when? And when will you leave?"

"Today, I'm afraid," Deliah told him. "Sorry, Ash, but going to Egypt has been a dream of mine for a very long time... and when your father invited me to come along, I couldn't say no. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I completely forgot..."

"A journey to Egypt, right now?" Max whispered into his sister's ear. "Is that a coincidence?"

"I received a message from the construction site in Egypt yesterday," Bruce explained. "And they need me urgently, that's why we have to leave right now. But Mr. Petach was nice enough to offer his help... he wants to take care of everything in our absence..."

"I have to take care of a few business matters in Viridian City first, but afterwards, I could bring you kids back to Hoenn," Petach smiled.

"Oh, and it's just a mere coincidence that you are headed to Hoenn as well, right?" Ash asked. He didn't like this new turn of events one bit.

"Not at all, I would actually have to make a detour," Petach replied in a serious voice.

"How noble of you..." Ash grumbled.

"Ash, honey, please behave!" his mother sighed. "I know you'd have loved to stay for one or two days, but you don't have to take out your frustration on Mr. Petach."

"So you're saying I'm supposed to stay here?" Ash angrily asked and stood up from his chair. "Together with him? No way! I'd rather walk to Vermilion City and take the next ferry!"

"Now listen here, Ash..." his father frowned.

"NO, I WON'T LISTEN!" Ash shouted as he ran outside. Pikachu jumped up in surprise and ran after him. "Chu!"

"Ash, wait..." May shouted.

"Let me talk to him," Petach said as he stood up as well.

'Just great...' Ash thought. 'The one person I did not want to talk to...'

For a moment, he pondered if he should leave for now and pay Professor Oak a visit... after all, the scientist was like a mentor to him... but then he heard a sharp bark and saw how Anubis came running past him, blocking the way outside. Pikachu glared at the Houndoom, but Anubis bared his teeth once.

Petach was standing behind them. "Please, Ash, I'm here to help you... let's talk, okay? Only five minutes, that's all I'm asking for. Listen to me for five minutes, and afterwards, you can do what you wish. I promise!"

Ash glared at him and stayed silent for a while. Finally, he nodded. He didn't have any choice, did he?

Petach seemed very glad to hear that. "Wonderful! Let's go upstairs, into your room, shall we?"

They walked upstairs, followed by Anubis and Pikachu. Ash still wondered what kind of connection there was between the Egyptian and the Houndoom. It seemed to him like Anubis was acting as Petach's enforcer or something like that.

In his room, Ash sat down on his bed, while Petach sat on a chair. Pikachu hopped up on the bed as well, while Anubis lay down in front of the door, effectively blocking the only exit.

"What do you want from me?" Ash finally asked.

Petach was hesitating. "I know you and your friends have a right to know the truth," he then said. "But I can't tell you everything... not yet."

Ash felt tired, all of a sudden. He wished that his life would return back to normal, and that the only worries he had were how he was going to win the next Pokémon Battle.

But he felt like he had left his known world and entered a new, dangerous one, right after he had visited the museum in Dustia City.

"I told you the story about Akhenaten and his murderer," Petach started. "You must have noticed by now that it is much more than just a story."

"Oh, really? What in the world gave you that idea?" Ash asked sarcastically.

Petach sighed. "I understand your anger... I really wish I could have explained it in some other way. But things don't always work out as we wish they would. I'm afraid I underestimated my enemies."

"Your... ENEMIES?" Ash wondered.

"You could call them the other party in this game," Petach said.

"Game?" Ash gasped. "Don't you think this is a bit too serious to be a game?"

"Everything's a game, in a way," Petach answered. "What may seem deadly serious to us humans looks merely like a way to pass time for the gods. And maybe there are even beings that are standing above them... but I digress. I admit, I made a mistake. I thought I had more time, but that is not the case."

"Time for what?" Ash asked.

"Time to bring you, your friend and your parents to safety," Petach said.

"My parents? But what..."

"Please listen, Ash," Petach said. "And try to believe me that I am telling you the truth. The prophecy I told you about last night will come true, either way. Sometimes, destiny is just too strong for humanity, and can't be changed. Still, destiny may be relentless, but it's never cruel. It knows no difference between Good and Evil. It will happen, but it is up to us how it will happen. I knew for a long time that Akhenaten's curse will come true, and I thought I had enough time to protect innocents from danger. Now I know I was wrong."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash murmured. He was a bit confused.

"Akhenaten's curse will come true, every word of it," Petach explained. "The dead will rise and the traitor will be allowed to die. But there are many ways how this can happen... it can be a night of horror and tears, or it can be the peace which the wanderer had longed for for all these years."

The dead will rise... those words sounded like they were right out of a cheap horror b-movie, but the way Petach spoke them made them sound dark and menacing.

"I can't explain why you and your parents are in danger right now," Petach said. "But you must believe me that I tried to protect you. maybe I should have come to you much sooner, but now we're here, and that's what counts. And they will return.

"What?" Ash gasped, and Pikachu looked alarmed as well. "You... you're saying that this mummy isn't the only... the only creature that's after me?"

"I'm afraid not," Petach replied. "And now that they know who you are and where you live, they will come back for you soon. It's not just you who is in danger, Ash, please understand that!"

Ash looked down at his feet for a while. He couldn't hear the voices of his friends and parents from up here, and everything was very quiet for a moment.

"Is that the reason why they have to leave so early?" he finally asked.

Petach smiled. "I admit that I... had my hands in it, it's true. I didn't like doing it, but it had to be done. I don't think my powers are enough to protect you, your friends and your parents at once. As long as the day of resurrection hasn't come, you will be a danger to them."

"But why?" Ash asked. "I... I haven't done anything. I didn't even know about anything of this a few days ago. Why is it me they want?"

"Because you have something they need," Petach answered. "Something of great value. Not for you or me or any other living human... but for the gods and the dead."

"What... what could that be?" Ash wondered.

"It wouldn't change anything if I told you," Petach said. "You wouldn't understand. But there is something you can do. As soon as your parents are safe, I can bring you to a place where they can't reach you. When my plan succeeds, they will lose any interest they have in you. Believe me!"

In Ash's opinion, it was getting harder and harder to trust the Egyptian. But what choice did he have? He thought of his friends and parents.

"Do you promise that nothing will ever happen to them if I do what you want?" he asked.

Petach nodded. "I promise. It's only you they want. And I will protect you. Last night, he took me by surprise, but that won't happen again."

"Then I'll go with you!" Ash said.

Pikachu looked at his friend and trainer in surprise. "Pika?"

"It's the only way, Pikachu..." Ash muttered and stroked his pal's soft fur. "I don't want to endanger Mom, Dad, Brock, May or Max just because some undead monsters are after me..."


End file.
